Roy Mustang might as well have been on the moon. The Rockbell house on a summer evening was as different from Central as the moon's cratered surface would be. Pinako had opened all the windows, and the sound of crickets and frogs from a nearby stream filled the house. The rythm of the crickets' chirping was like a metronome, lulling you to sleep. A cool breeze blew the fragrance of the carefully tended garden into the kitchen. Although the closest neighbors were a couple miles away and he was the only one awake in the house, Roy didn't feel isolated at all. The front door was like the house, open and inviting. The place seemed to just blend into the countryside, in harmony with nature instead of confining all the green into a couple blocks of parkspace like the city.
Despite the multitude of problems facing him, he felt calm and relaxed although he was tinged with sadness that he couldn't forsee another night this peaceful again anywhere in his near future. He'd been born and raised in Central and his only experiences of being out in the country before this were when he stayed in large military encampments that smothered any possible beauty or serenity. He made a mental note that out here on the borders of Amestris would be a good place to retire or go if he needed solitude.
He'd insisted he do guard duty instead of one of his subordinates, the tone in his voice taming even the normally formidable Hawkeye. For all her bluster, she could tell when there was no room for argument and didn't try to challenge him. Things were going to get rough and they needed their rest. He needed to think.
It felt wrong to do guard duty in this place, as if thinking of it as a position that needed to be protected tainted it with the military's presence. However, while the homunculi still existed they could not drop their guard.
Mustang wielded a pistol for the guard duty. He was undoubtedly more formidable with his alchemy, but its effectiveness came at the cost of losing any subtlety and incurring a lot of collateral damage. Hawkeye had loaned him her pistol, partly his idea to make sure she was relatively harmless and wasn't hidden away somewhere guarding the place along with him. Mustang used to be a pretty fair shot, able to compete with Hawkeye. However it'd been many years since he'd practiced and he knew he wasn't anywhere near her level of skill anymore.
The pistol sat on the table amongst bread crumbs and half-empty glasses, exactly where she'd left it sitting. After a long deliberation, Mustang gingerly picked it up and placed it in a pants pocket. He still wore his uniform, though his jacket was unbuttoned revealing a white shirt. This added to his posture slumped down in the chair, made him look like a thinner more handsome Breda.
As he looked out the window, gentle wisps of smoke would rise up into the warm sky every few seconds. He knew it was the old lady smoking her pipe. Though he'd hoped she'd gone to bed so the house would be easier to protect, she was the mistress of the house and he didn't even think of asking or ordering her. There was something he'd actually been wondering about for the past couple hours. He forced himself to head out and ask her.
"Where's Hoenheim? I haven't seen him around for a bit."
"He's still over at his house with Alphonse." She said it as if that house was still there up on the ridge and not a burnt remnant of happier times. Seeing his confused expression, she added "It's still there for him. Time has no meaning for Hoenheim Elric." She chuckled, seeing him obviously confused even more.
They stood there next to each other for a couple minutes, his form towering over her though shrinking slightly away like she was 12 feet tall. Finally she said "You're not really wondering where he is, are you?"
"No."
"Just like the night Ed & Al transmuted their mother and you showed up. You weren't looking for him then, either." It wasn't a question.
He smirked. "I don't even know why I tried to fool the woman who raised Ed, Al and Winry for most of their childhood. They're all mature way beyond their years."
"That's because they had to deal with their parents' loss early in their lives," she said, surprisingly coldly.
Roy Mustang flinched, just noticeably. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. He began to say something then stopped and sighed. He did this several more times, at an utter loss for words. Pinako gave him no help, remaining silent and letting him stutter trying to continue the conversation.
"You'd be surprised how many times I've managed to get away from my subordinates when I was being ordered from one place to another," he finally said very quietly. "On the ride between, I'd find a reason to book a train route that ran through Resembool. I actually made it to your front door once, with my knuckle raised to knock but I realized I didn't know what to say. I am sorry but it seemed almost a mockery to come to your door like a little child to apologize."
"Winry told me that after you killed her parents you vowed to become the new fuhrer and never again obey a ridiculous order. That's equivalent exchange."
"What?"
"If Winry's parents' deaths brought you to that idea, then they lead you to watch over Ed and Al later. To give them a means to accomplish their dream."
"That doesn't seem equivalent to me."
"Wisdom is never cheap. Often many mistakes have to be made before you come to your realization. Sometimes it's just several terrible ones. The price of wisdom has always been steep."
"Where did you come by all of yours?"
"Bah! I'm just an old mechanic."
"Thank you."
"Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better, but if her parents died to bring wisdom to a brash young officer who would one day watch over the Elric brothers, then at least their lives were worth something. I don't love you for what you did or even like you, but I can tell you've suffered for your sins. I think you deserve to know that equivalent exchange isn't just about alchemy."
"Winry—"
"—will come to realize this someday."
"Thank you."
Pinako sat down at a chair on the porch, Roy joining on the other side of the small table there. For awhile they sat. Roy's mind had been freed of a huge burden but it soon drifted towards other problems. The old woman watched him out of the corner of her eyes as he furrowed his brow and frowned, staring out across the fields but obviously not seeing them.
"Something is happening, isn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't need military intelligence to know we're right at the edge of something huge. It's a storm, coming isn't it?"
"Why do you think that?"
"The Elrics are here, you're here, even Hoenheim has returned. For the first time all the people responsible for Ed & Al's destiny are together. Somehow I know this will never happen again. In a way it's too good to last. I can see the look in Hoenheim's face. I can see it in your face. You're getting ready to go into hell."
"Yes. I don't know what Hoenheim is planning but I have a feeling it will have a bearing on the fate of this country. For me, it's almost time to use all the political power in the military and reputation that I've built up over the years. I'll probably fail and die. But if things at the top of this country are really as bad as Ed and Al say, I have to make my move, ready or not."
"I wish you luck. I don't know what you're planning and really don't care. But if you manage to change this country for the better and stop Ishbal from ever happening again, I'll know I'm not kidding myself about Winry's parents' death being worth something. Please prove me right."